5 transferable skills you need to go from homemaker to employee

What happens when the homemaker decides to return to formal employment? She is usually greeted with disdain for having ‘wasted’ her time at home and missed out on the latest developments in the industry.

Though she is likely to be a bit out of touch with the nitty gritty of being an employee, a homemaker will, during the course of her homemaking, acquire some fine skills that make her an even more valuable employee than someone who has not experienced life outside the workplace.

Time-keeping

With so much to achieve on a daily basis, successful homemakers always keep their eye on the clock. If your meetings tend to stretch forever, and you cannot seem to stay on schedule for your targets, someone with homemaking experience can turn that around for you.

Through experience, homemakers understand the effect of allowing tasks to take up too long to complete, of failing to have something done in time, and of the benefits of scheduling right off the bat.

Planning

Homemakers are, of necessity planners. From household chore to family events, these women have a skill that some employees still need to be taught. A homemaker understands the difference between a daily, weekly and monthly plan.

Meal planning is one way they practice this. She needs to plan for daily meals, which will be the foundation of her weekly or even monthly shopping trips. At the same time, she masters making adjustments, improvising, scheduling and reviewing.

Multi-tasking

Homemaking tasks are varied, numerous and as diverse as the lives involved. The basics of homemaking encompass cooking, cleaning, childcare, gardening, tutoring, house maintenance and so on. In a single day, she will have to deal with some or even all of these tasks.

With only 24 hours in a day, multi-tasking is something learned out of necessity. The trick with multi-tasking is that while it is necessary, it needs to be done in a logical manner to be effective. While you can listen to your child’s reading while cooking, for example, it becomes illogical to attempt it while you are vacuuming.

If your team needs someone who seamlessly integrates tasks together, you may need to give the homemaker a chance.

Creativity

Creativity is one of those skills that is difficult to define and teach to a person. It is best learned in context. And what better context than in the home, where routine can soon lead to boredom in so many ways.

From the layout of furniture to meals and family activities, there comes a time where a new approach is demanded of you. When work and business solutions start to get mundane, the homemaker will seldom be out of depth.

Negotiation

Who engages the part-time help to complete a task in the shortest time possible for the lowest cost? Who meets the meter man at the gate and diverts any attempt to disconnect services? Who sets the terms for play dates, physical boundaries, and social events?

The very same tasks in the context of a formal work environment can be assigned to the woman who already has lots of experience form home.

In some cases, it’s the homemaker herself who needs to be reminded of all the wealth of experience that she brings to the workforce.

There is no reason to feel inferior or incompetent. A successful homemaker makes a successful employee.

My passions are learning and teaching. I hold a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Solusi University, as well as numerous other post-graduate certifications including graduate leadership development, Information Security; Pastoral Care and Counseling. I have lived all over Zimbabwe, and am currently residing in Chipinge with my patient husband and very beautiful daughters.